Weathered Past

I was just over at http://oldetymemarketplace.blogspot.com/ reading Beths latest post on "chippy" things and it got me to telling her about my stop I made yesterday to my old neighborhood. So I thought I would include a post about it this evening!

My old neighborhood in which I lived for about 6-7 yrs. was flooded about two yrs ago. This neighborhood had always been in a flood plain, but it had never gotten that near to our old house. But two yrs ago it did and all the homes in the 2-3 block area were under water and had to be abandoned. People just had to get what they could and leave. They have set empty now for a couple yrs. I often drive down the street and could remember every rm in the house. The whole layout is still fresh in my head, and its been over 35-36 yrs ago since living there. I can remember the wall heater in the hallway that I would get cold in the night and go lay by. the kitchen table set by a bank of window just next to the kitchen. The washer and dryer were a stones throw next to the kitchen leading out the back door, where I would sit under the stairway often, kind of a hideaway! I can see the curtains and couch just as plain as day. we had an old black and white TV. an old wobbly coffee table. My folks had a chenille bedspread. My brothers rm had a huge bank of windows on two sides of his room. I always wanted that rm. and a tiny tiny bathroom at the end of the hall!

On Sat. Mom and I drove by and the backhoe guy was there. We explained that I had grown up there and wondered if we could go in and maybe take something from the old house? He said take anything, its coming down. We went in and oh my, now granted many occupants have lived in this old thing in the many yrs. It was bad, and oh so much smaller than I remember. The kitchen honestly only one person could be in there at one time. The living rm was so small. My old bedroom had probably only room for a single bed. And my brothers rm that had seemed so big at the time was so dinky now! Im not sure I liked going in there now. I kind of like remembering it the was it was to me back then. I can remember each families name that lived in each neighboring house.. the kids that we played with until dark. Until our mom called us in to take our baths. I remember Mr O'Brian who used a walker to get his mail everyday. He was always grumpy. Mr Murts, who would spend hrs out back picking up pecans from his tree. Mr and Mrs. Tetens, who lived in the one room trailer house on the corner. she always talked through her nose, and they smoked like a chimney, but she would invite us in and we would talk and talk. He was a quiet old hunched over man who never talk, just smoked!

Anyway, I retrieved Mr Murts old back screen door to his basement. Three screens from Mr and Mrs Tetens old garage and Mr O'Brians mailbox. I'm so proud to say I will cherish them and put them up in my craft shop. I want to line the walls with window and door screens. It was so surreal being in that house and in the neighborhood. I often don't think I remember much about my childhood until I go to places and then memories come flooding back. I think I'm going to stand the old mailbox up on its end and put a flower pot in it~Mr O'Brian would have liked that! I am so close to my 100th post. Be watching for my giveaway!